[ ]
From:
Date: 30 Apr 2006
Time: 11:29:49 +0200
Remote Name: 196.44.153.3
There were to be three riding days from Lusaka to Livingstone (Victoria Falls) at which point there were two rest days planned to enjoy the sights and activities around the Falls. I was experiencing a slight rebellion against the recent spate of long cycling days (for people with an average speed of less than 27k/hr the daily distances meant most days were long riding days). I'd had my enforced injury time side trip to Zanzibar, which was a great break from the routine of the daily TDA grind, and it seemed like a good idea to scoot ahead to Victoria Falls a few days early and miss only three riding days through fairly mundane scenery. The Falls were as spectacular as they have been described in countless reports and articles. It was high water season, and the spray from the sheer volume of water being dropped into the abyss at the bottom actually obscured the view of the Falls plummeting into the Zambezi below. There were many places along the walkway where it was like standing under a cloudburst or in the middle of a huge tropical downpour, the spray was so strong. Also managed to see the lunar rainbow (rainbow over the Falls at night time reflected in the full moon). I also took a microlight flight over the falls (in a pretty strong wind, I have to say, nerves of steel came in handy that day). Indescribable, really, how magnificent it was. I have always wanted to learn how to fly, and short of sprouting a pair of wings out of your shoulder blades, flying in a microlight is the closest you're ever going to get to flying like a bird. Came away with some fantastic photos and a renewed determination to find the time and the cash to get my pilots licence. One more thing added to the list of things to do. With the extended rest days over, I resolved to make no more side trips from the tour - our schedule was such that there was not a great deal of time to spend on non-cycling activities, and what time could be snatched out of the schedule by adding an extra rest day here, or getting to a destination a little earlier than planned would be insufficient to do justice to experiencing the sights and sounds, flora and fauna, wildlife and local population as I would wish to enjoy it. Back on track, I'm here to ride my bike, I love to ride my bike, my backside is so tough now that I can ride for twelve hours daily with no adverse side effects down below, my legs are like those of a finely-tuned race horse, my waist has returned after a one year absence caused by eating too much hotel food while travelling on business, I am now resplendent in my cycling glory. All I need now is a completely new set of lungs and I would indeed be a perfect specimen of cycling magnificence. Alas that will never happen, so I make do with pretending to be a perfect specimen on the flat, and then admitting to myself that I am a has-been-wreck as soon as I start puffing and panting uphill. From Livingstone there was an easy day to the Botswana border crossing - ferry ride across the Zambezi dividing Zambia and Botswana, more stamps in the passport. That evening most of the group went on a river safari from our campsite (on the Chobe river). After the highs of the Ngorogoro and Serengeti, it seemed quite tame, but there were some good hippo and elephant sightings and a beautiful sunset over the marshland. There were then three long cycling days through Botswana to get to Maun, our next rest day. There were in theory plenty of wildlife sightings over this stretch - part of the Elephant Highway leg of the tour. I was lucky enough to pass by an elephant chilling out at a watering hole one afternoon. When you think about the fact that you are in the wild - not in a zoo or a safari park - and less than 50m away is several ton of elephant with nothing between it and you apart form a smallish pond of water, it's time to point the handlebars in the direction of the quickest escape route and get in a low gear ready for a sprint start. The only other wildlife sighting along this stretch for me was a wild bush dog lolloping towards me down the road before cutting across into the grass, and a small high-shelled tortoise foolish enough to be shuffling down the yellow line at the side of the road. I think it was close enough to the grass to avoid becoming just one more exotic roadkill. Botswana is flat as a pancake, and the distances covered were pretty long - 160ish k, 175k